The Snow Storm
by tamxietyx
Summary: Tamsin loses her keys on the eve of a big snow storm. Oneshot.


"OK! Which one of you rat bastards stole my keys?"

"'Rat bastards', Tamsin? You're a little off your name-game tonight, huh?" Kenzi leaned back on her barstool and cast a teasing glance behind her. Tamsin, dressed surprisingly casual, was pacing around the empty tables of the Dal with an annoyed look pasted on her face. Dyson snorted into his beer while watching his partner search in vain for her keys.

"You do know there's a snow storm rolling in tonight?" He chuckled. Tamsin glared at him from behind the pool table.

"No! Thank you so much, Weatherman Dyson, I totally forgot that the biggest storm of the year was coming in." The Valkyrie's sarcastic voice drifted up from underneath the pool table. She crawled back out with a frustrated grumble, still without her keys. Where were those little bastards?

"Easy," Dyson said still with a smile. "I just don't think its a good time to be driving."

"I've fought off hordes and hordes of enemies. Do you really think I can't handle a snow storm?"

"No offense T-sin, but your driving is not exemplar." Kenzi piped in as she sipped her drink. Tamsin frowned at Kenzi and readjusted her black beanie with a huff.

"Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery."

"Whatever girl, we're just trying to protect you from that deathtrap you call a truck."

"Don't insult my truck!"

"Now, now children." Trick sighed, coming up from his study. He stepped behind the bar and slid Kenzi a new drink, which she happily accepted. Dyson turned fully in his seat to catch Tamsin in a serious stare.

"Tamsin, seriously, you should not be driving tonight. Nobody should be." He gestured for her to come sit back down at the bar. Trick looked up at her from behind the bar but remained silent, his eyebrows raised. The Valkyrie sighed, rolled her eyes, and cracked her neck. She dragged herself over to the stool next to Dyson and threw herself down. Trick gave her a little smile and placed a warm mug of cider and ale in front of her.

"That's more like it. How about some pool? We can look for your keys later." Dyson clapped her on the back with a grin.

"I'll play and trash your wolfy ass." Tamsin smirked at him over the rim of her mug, her bad mood partially forgotten.

"Careful Valkyrie, wolves don't forget insults."

"Yeah, yeah." Tamsin laughed. She swung herself off the stool and started moving towards the table. Midway, she froze and turned back to Trick and Kenzi. Someone was missing from their little gathering.

"Wait, where did Bo go?" Tamsin felt a tiny burst of worry as she looked around the empty room. She hadn't seen Bo since she started looking for her keys. Though there was virtually no danger at the Dal (besides Kenzi when she had too much to drink), the Valkyrie was never going to let herself get lazy when it came to Bo's safety, even if the succubus could easily protect herself. That girl was just constantly in some kind of trouble.

"She's in the other room. I think she's still on the phone." Trick pointed vaguely to the door to the back room.

"Pause this game for a sec, Wolfy. I'm going to go check on her." Tamsin strode off towards the door with Dyson's threats of starting without her trailing after her.

The back room was more than a little cluttered with boxes of new shipment Trick had yet to transfer to the shelves. It was slightly dark, but Tamsin could make out the back of Bo's form. The succubus had her phone pressed to her ear and seemed to be deep in conversation. Tamsin slowly moved into the room so as not to startle the other woman.

"...sounds fun. Of course. No, no, have a good time! Yeah. Oh, alright...I'll talk to you later." The phone call ended with a beep. Bo leaned forward and placed her forehead against one of the boxes in front of her. Her shoulders sagged while she sighed into the stacks of cardboard. Not really being one for tact, Tamsin decide to make her presence known.

"Who was that?" Bo jumped at the blonde's words and spun around with a gasp. Her hand subtly fell away from the knife she kept hidden under her jacket upon recognizing Tamsin's face.

"Tamsin." The succubus shook herself and tried to regain her composure.

"Hey, succulette."

"That," Bo said, waving her phone in the air. "Was Lauren. She and Crystal are getting on their plane early because of this storm. They're going to Fiji."

"Oh right. I heard about that."

"Yeah." Bo mumbled. The succubus's face fell a bit at the mention of the trip. It was easy to tell she was still sad over Lauren's new girlfriend. Tamsin, however, was happy that the Doc was with somebody nice. Even though they didn't always see eye to eye, the Doc deserved happiness where she could get it. It also removed one of the many people vying for Bo's heart. Not that that mattered or anything. Nope, that had absolutely nothing to do with her, or so she attempted to tell herself.

The Valkyrie tried to ignore the little flutter in her chest over knowing Bo was single. Thankfully for her, that flutter was quickly squashed when Bo sighed and rubbed a hand against red-rimmed eyes. Tamsin berated herself for not catching the moisture in Bo's eyes sooner. She stepped forward with one hand out, unsure of her place in this matter. While it was obvious the succubus was messed up about her phone call, whether or not she wanted any comfort was unclear. Tamsin internally groaned at herself. She was probably the last person to go to for comfort, but something needed to be done.

"You OK, killer?" The Valkyrie tried to ask gently. It came out more awkward than she'd hoped, but it was a start.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Bo tried to wave her back out the door.

"I could beg to differ." Tamsin put a hand on Bo's shoulder and forced the woman to look at her. Her brown eyes were bright with tears, but were starting to dry. Bo rubbed at her face again before looking back at the Valkyrie.

"I'm happy for Lauren."

"And I believe you, succulette. You're too nice not to be."

"I just..I don't know. I guess it just finally hit me that she's doing other things with other people. She is still one of my best friends, we just aren't together _that_ way anymore. And I miss her. As a friend." Bo explained with the tiniest of smiles. Tamsin squeezed the brunette's arm reassuringly as she could.

"I get what you're saying. You'll move on."

" I know I will, it just hurts now, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Tamsin smiled down at her...friend. What were they to each other? Was there a name for this?

"Tamsin?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Bo rose up and wrapped her arms around Tamsin's middle. Slightly unsure of what to do, the Valkyrie brought her hands up to gingerly pat Bo's back. One hundred lifetimes and she'd never been much of a hugger.

"I think you can hug better than that, Valkyrie." Bo's voice breezed across the crook of Tamsin's neck, making her shiver. Slowly, like she was just learning to use them, Tamsin wrapped her own arms around the succubus in front of her. Bo sunk into the embrace, forcing Tamsin to back into some of the boxes behind her. It was...nice, to say the least. The blonde let her nose drop into the sweet-smelling hair brushing her lips. Bo smelled like cinnamon and apples, and it was such a _good_ smell. Wisps of the Valkyrie's own light hair were being stirred up by Bo's now steady breathing. The moment was so perfect...until Kenzi and Dyson's loud yells shattered the silence.

"You cheater!" Kenzi's shriek bounced around the walls of the backroom like a boomerang. Dyson's booming (and most likely inebriated) laughter followed soon after it. Just like that, the spell was broken. Tamsin quickly retracted her arms with a grunt and stood up straighter. She and Bo both moved a more acceptable distance from each other. Identical blushes lit up both women's faces. Bo was the first to regain her poise and glided out of the room after shooting a grateful smile at Tamsin. Once Bo was out of the room, the Valkyrie took the chance to swallow the lump that had mysteriously grown in her throat. Is that what all hugs were like?

"Hey TamTam!" Kenzi yelled from the bar room. "I think it's snowing!"

"Thanks for the update!"

"Tamsin, come on! We're gonna go watch!" Dyson seemed to be yelling for her too. After a deep breath, Tamsin made her way back into the bar room. Everyone, including Trick, was slipping on their jackets to go outside at look at the snow. The race of the century was going down between Dyson and Kenzi to see who would get outside first. The numerous bottles of beer and ale glasses that were littered on the counter probably explained their incredible enthusiasm. She downed what was left of her own drink and threw on her own coat. Sounds of laughter filtered through the entrance of the Dal. Tamsin just let her feet carry her until she was out on the sidewalk with the rest of the group.

"Wow." The Valkyrie whispered. Huge, white flakes gently drifted down from the sky. As they fell, the flakes gathered up on the concrete and on the fabric of the gang's jackets.

"Like God's dandruff.." Kenzi stage whispered to Bo. The succubus threw her head back in laughter, but could well of gone and kicked Tamsin in the chest. It was like the scene from a Hallmark movie. She just watched Bo laugh while Dyson and Kenzi threw snowballs at each as fast as more snow could fall. Tamsin thought back to when she'd drunkenly told Bo how perfect she was...in Bo's bathtub. Embarrassment over past actions aside, that statement had never been more true than now, with Bo's radiant smile lighting up her face and snow falling lightly into her hair. In that moment, something inside of Tamsin snapped and said _Fuck you and your decisions, brain_. Against her will, she moved in behind Bo and wrapped her arms securely around the succubus's abdomen. At first, Bo froze and stiffened up at the contact. But, after a quick glance behind her, she settled into Tamsin's arms like a second skin. Once again, Tamsin found her nose in Bo's snow covered hair, and once again she couldn't help but enjoy it.

"This is new." Bo whispered, reaching up to run a thumb over the Valkyrie's beanie hat.

"Which thing? The hat or...this." Tamsin mumbled back.

"Both. But I kinda like it."

"Really?" Tamsin asked. Instead of answering, Bo just smiled and went back to watching Kenzi and Dyson galavant in the snow with Trick as a supervisor. Tamsin let her eye's follow their movement all while having a hyperfocused amount of attention on Bo's every move. Little bubbles of happiness were floating around in Tamsin's chest and the only thing that would improve upon her night would be if her hands would stop being so cold. She tried rubbing them together to generating a little heat, but it didn't work. Bo immediately took notice and grabbed both of Tamsin's hands in her own. The succubus blessedly stuck each hand in one of her coat pockets before turning to share a small smile with the blonde behind her. Tamsin stretched out her hands in the warmth of Bo's coat pocket, only to feel something cool and metal in the right one.

"Bo. Why do you have my keys?"


End file.
